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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29181231">Roses Never Fade</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/VTR/pseuds/VTR'>VTR</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Alpha Extraordinaire [5]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Love Live! School Idol Festival (Video Game), Love Live! School Idol Festival ALL STARS (Video Game), Love Live! School Idol Project, Love Live! Sunshine!!</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>A/B/O, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Children, Complicated Relationships, F/F, Family, Futanari, Heartbreak, Parenthood, Step-parents, Were-Creatures, Werewolves</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-02-03</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-02-03</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-13 13:14:55</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Mature</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>5,522</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29181231</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/VTR/pseuds/VTR</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>The birth of the cub shatters Dia's relationship with Kanan and Mari for good. Sarah is there to help her pick up the pieces.</p>
<p>Takes places throughout Elicchi, Alpha Extraordinaire.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Kazuno Sarah/Kurosawa Dia, Kurosawa Dia/Ohara Mari, Matsuura Kanan/Ohara Mari</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Alpha Extraordinaire [5]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1189015</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>15</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>21</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Roses Never Fade</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><ul class="associations">
      <li>For <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/YuriSenpai/gifts">YuriSenpai</a>.</li>



    </ul><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>HELLO I wrote part of this back in 2018 after Elicchi ended, but it just wasn't the right time to release it! Now that I have more inspiration, I present to you a short series detailing exactly what happened with Dia and her friends after the uhhh Sayuri Incident.</p>
<p>Banana-chan, this one's for you as a little Valentine's gift my angsty girl. I love you and thank you for always being my creative inspiration and also my life inspiration!!!!!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The warm and comforting aroma of fresh-baked cake drifted throughout the Aqours pack’s home. Ai crouched by the oven, peering impatiently through the little window and thumping her tail, willing her cupcakes to hurry up and rise already! Auntie Dia watched her from the dining table with an amused glint in her eye.</p>
<p>“They’ll never rise if you keep watching them like that,” Dia said.</p>
<p>Ai straightened up in a hurry. “Really? What do you mean?”</p>
<p>“Haven’t you ever heard the saying ‘the watched pot never boils’?” Dia asked. “It’s the same here. The watched cupcakes never rise!”</p>
<p>The cub gave the cupcakes one last, longing, and doubtful look before joining her auntie at the table. Her little blonde tail continued to swish and thump with impatience at, well, everything.</p>
<p>“So is it the same with babies?” Ai asked after a time. “A watched baby is never born?”</p>
<p>Dia had to laugh. “Well, it certainly feels like it, doesn’t it?” She glanced at the clock on the wall. It was nearly half-past eight now, and there was still no word from Mari or Kanan. Perhaps it was a difficult labor, or perhaps the little cub just wasn’t quite ready to show herself yet. Dia knew this night would make or break her future relationship with her childhood friends, but she concealed her nerves well from her young niece. “Why don’t we pick out the frosting while we wait?” she suggested, as much for her benefit as Ai's.</p>
<p>Ai agreed, so Dia retrieved the three available frostings they’d picked out for this very occasion.</p>
<p>“What do you think?” Dia asked. “Should we do red or white? Or we could do chocolate!”</p>
<p>Ai didn’t hesitate. She plunked the red cup into her auntie’s hands. “I think we should do red! Red for alpha!”</p>
<p>A very traditional choice, and one Dia approved of. A little alpha… Kanan would surely be proud to pass on her knowledge of alphahood, but if the cub turned out anything like Mari, then they’d be in for some trouble, no doubt. All the energy of an alpha combined with all the mischief of Mari? Tornado-worthy.</p>
<p>“Auntie Dia, look! They’re coming up!” Ai cried. She was staring into the oven again, her little tail stiff and bristled with excitement. “Are they done yet?!”</p>
<p>Dia opened the oven just a crack, and together they peered into the heat. The tops of the cupcakes rose up just barely above the rim of the pan, all golden and fluffy and perfect. Ai clapped her hands and bounced in place at the wonderful sight and smell of it. Dia couldn’t help but smile at the little one’s delight. She had no idea…</p>
<p>“Look, I’ll show you how to check if they’re done,” Dia said, and took a toothpick from the cup at the windowsill. “You poke the cupcake like this… And if it comes out clean, then it’s done! See? They’re ready to come out!”</p>
<p>They left the cupcakes to cool atop the stove, and the irresistible scent of them drew several members of the pack down to see what was cooking. Ai stood guard over them like a dragon over its treasures.</p>
<p>“They’re not ready yet,” she told a curious Setsuna. “They have to cool first, and then we’re putting the frosting on! Come back later.”</p>
<p>“Well, can we use the chocolate frosting?” Setsuna asked. “I think it tastes the best on the yellow cake.”</p>
<p>“Sorry, but we’re using red since Mama’s having an alpha,” Ai said. “If you came down here earlier like I <em>told</em> you to, you could have helped pick!”</p>
<p>Setsuna was indignant. “Well, I didn’t know!” she said. “Besides, the baby’s not even gonna eat the cupcakes. So the color doesn’t matter!”</p>
<p>Riko, Setsuna’s father, came to settle the children. “Oh, Setsuna, you know we had a red cake at your scenting ceremony!” she said. “That’s just what you do when a baby alpha is born. Besides, Ai is the one who’s becoming a big sister, so I think we should let her pick.”</p>
<p>Setsuna furrowed her brow, and the gears in her young brain started spinning. “So I’ll get to pick when I become a big sister?”</p>
<p>Riko suddenly looked a little nervous. “Well, no…”</p>
<p>“But you just said!”</p>
<p>Dia came to the rescue of her packmate then, cracking open the tub of frosting and announcing that the cupcakes were finally cool enough to decorate. Ai cheered, and Setsuna had to admit that she was excited, too, even if the cupcakes had to be red instead of chocolate. No matter how Dia and Riko tried to guide them in proper decoration technique, the cubs would not have their artistic vision altered, so the result was three dozen very <em>unique</em>, very red cupcakes.</p>
<p>“Now for the taste test!” Setsuna reached for a particularly well-frosted cupcake, but her father intercepted her with a quick slap on the hand.</p>
<p>“Setsuna, you can’t eat them until the ceremony!” Riko said, and then folded her arms in no-nonsense fashion. “And besides, you already had your sweets for tonight. Remember?”</p>
<p>Setsuna’s little ears drooped with disappointment. She remembered, of course, but she’d been banking on Riko forgetting.</p>
<p>Dia sat nearby, just watching and listening to the cubs bicker and banter with Riko, and she couldn’t help but wonder if parenthood would ever be in the cards for her. The slim chance that she’d be a father before the night was over gnawed constantly at her guts, but she was <em>anything</em> but hopeful. The devastation wrought on her life and the lives of her dearest friends could hardly be worth the pride of parenthood.</p>
<p>But if not tonight… then when? Dia was technically single, and since she’d been in a complicated romance with Mari and Kanan since cubhood, she had virtually no dating experience even in her thirties. That wasn’t even the worst of it, though, because Dia was well aware that not only was she inexperienced, but she was ugly, too. She’d spent many a day and night despairing over her once-beautiful face, which was now permanently marred with thick, reddened scars.</p>
<p>“Auntie Dia?”</p>
<p>Ai’s little voice snapped Dia out of her wandering and depressive thoughts, and Dia felt somewhat relieved. The cub stood there, wringing and twisting her tail and staring up at Dia with the classic puppy-dog eyes.</p>
<p>“Do I have to go to bed early tonight?” Ai asked. “Since Mama and Papa aren’t home, and it’s a special day…”</p>
<p>Dia softened. There was no harm in letting the cub stay up late on such an important day, she supposed, and it was the weekend, besides. The condition was that Ai still had to take her bath, and the cub readily agreed, so Dia ran a warm and bubbly one for her.</p>
<p>“Sometimes Papa takes a bath with me!” Ai said as she tossed an assortment of toys into the tub. “Do you wanna take a bath with me today, Auntie? It’ll be fun!”</p>
<p>Dia chuckled at Ai’s innocence. Cubs truly had no concept of social boundaries. “No, thank you,” she said. “Now, go on, get in! It’s nice and warm!”</p>
<p>Ai climbed in, and delighted in gathering up the bubbles and wearing them on her face and chest like a massive, foamy beard. Dia, just as playful, worked shampoo into the cub’s blonde hair, and then fashioned the lathery hair into a point.</p>
<p>“Now you have a horn!”</p>
<p>The pair laughed, but their ears soon perked up at the sound of a mother-cub argument coming from the hallway.</p>
<p>“But, Mama, I’m in the middle of my game!” little Setsuna whined.</p>
<p>“Oh, come on, I’m not a granny,” her mother Yoshiko replied. “I know there’s a pause button! Pause it and you can keep playing after your bath!”</p>
<p>“But…!”</p>
<p>There was much moaning and much huffing, but finally Yoshiko appeared in the bathroom carrying the reluctant Setsuna, who she dumped unceremoniously into the tub with Ai. Dia and Yoshiko saw to it that the cubs’ hair was washed and rinsed properly, and then left them on their own to scrub their little bodies clean and to play with their toys.</p>
<p>“Are you nervous?” Yoshiko asked as she returned to the kitchen with Dia.</p>
<p>“A bit,” Dia said, though that was perhaps the understatement of the year. “Probability is on Kanan’s side, though, so I’m trying not to worry too much.”</p>
<p>Yoshiko frowned as she rifled about in the cabinet for her favorite mug. “It only takes once,” she reminded her friend. “How do you think I got Setsuna?”</p>
<p>That was true, but the odds still favored Kanan, and by extension, Dia. Dwelling on that tiny chance would only serve to raise Dia’s blood pressure and give her indigestion.</p>
<p>It wasn’t long after that the damp-haired Ai and Setsuna came downstairs dressed in their sleep clothes. Setsuna's elder half-sister Ayumu and Dia's own sister Ruby accompanied them, the latter carrying a plush blanket which the cubs were eager to wrap themselves in.</p>
<p>“Hey, Auntie Dia!” Ai called. “Ruby’s putting on a movie for us! Are you coming?”</p>
<p>Perhaps that was just the distraction Dia needed. She poured some drinks and prepared some snacks for the cubs (it was a special night, so Riko relented on her late-night snack policy), and then snuggled up tight with Ai and Ruby. It was a children’s film, easy to follow and with plenty of songs and magical charm, and with that combined with the warmth and scents of her sister and her niece, Dia at last found it easy to pull her eyes away from the clock.</p>
<p>But it was still ticking…</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Mari was in pain, but there was a certain beauty in watching her huff and moan and rock and tilt her body any way it demanded as the cub inside her began to force its way out. Kanan held her hand sometimes, and other times rubbed her back or pulled the hair from her face. Sometimes Mari wouldn’t allow herself to be touched at all, and snarled and snapped when Kanan or the medical staff came close. It wasn’t personal; Kanan was present for Ai’s birth, as well, and Mari was just as aggressive then in the later stages of her labor. Afterwards she was warm and cuddly again (if exhausted) and allowed Kanan to come close and enjoy the new baby with her. Kanan couldn’t wait to experience that again; seeing and holding her little girl for the first time remained her most precious memory.</p>
<p>“It’s an alpha!”</p>
<p>Those words and the squalling, healthy cry that followed sent bursts of joy and pride rippling through Kanan’s body. Right away thoughts of taking the little one out for her first patrol, teaching her to master her instincts, and guiding her safely through the hardships of alphahood flashed through her mind. But when she stepped closer to get a better look at the screaming baby on her mate’s chest, she realized that something was very wrong.</p>
<p><em>Perhaps it’s just that her fur is still wet</em>, Kanan thought, but even after the attendants cleaned and dried the cub, her fur remained dark as ever, and certainly not dark <em>blue</em>.</p>
<p>Mari knew. She sat hunched with her face turned away from Kanan in favor of kissing and nuzzling the growling, whimpering child. Kanan leaned closer, her heart pounding like mad, desperate to find even a smidgen of herself in the newborn, but when she caught scent of the cub, there was no more denying it. The cub was Dia’s. The sting of jealousy ripped through Kanan’s chest, and it took all she had not to scream and howl her grief right there in the hospital room.</p>
<p>“Mari,” she said, hoping her voice stayed even. “She’s…” A sob threatened to take Kanan’s throat, and she swallowed it back without saying any more.</p>
<p>“I’m so sorry, Kanan.” Mari at last turned her misty eyes up to her mate. “I-I know she’s… She’s… Kanan, she’s only a baby. Please, <em>please</em> stay. We can work it out, like we always do. Right? We can work it out?”</p>
<p>Mari’s words were laced with desperation, and Kanan felt a surge of uncharacteristic contempt. The baby must have sensed the tension, because she began to cry again in great half-human, half-animal wails, and Mari bounced and rocked her to no avail. Kanan couldn’t help but think how <em>ugly</em> that screaming was – nothing at all like baby Ai’s sweet little cries. That was just further proof that Dia and Mari were a bad combination, and that nothing beautiful could ever come of their union.</p>
<p>With shaking hands, Kanan slid the golden ring from her finger, and laid it on the bed beside Mari.</p>
<p>“She will <em>never</em> call me Papa,” she said, and turned immediately to leave before Mari saw her tears.</p>
<p>The anguished sobbing that followed made Kanan want to rush back into the room and take Mari in her arms, to kiss her and hug her and tell her they’d work through it together, but it was too late. Kanan had said her piece, and made up her mind, and besides that, the baby she’d wanted so desperately wasn’t even <em>hers</em>.</p>
<p>She power-walked out of the hospital, struggling to control her breathing and to keep her furs in, and apparently was doing a poor job of it, as more than one passing nurse or fellow visitor asked her if she was alright. She most definitely was not alright, but the last thing she needed was a stranger telling her everything was going to be okay. It wasn’t.</p>
<p>When she got outside, Kanan finally started running as fast as her legs would allow, her feet pounding the pavement while her furs burst through at last. She looked a fearsome sight, all furred and fanged and with her chest heaving mightily, and it was a good thing that most people knew better than to stay in the path of a shifted, charging alpha. The pain and the grief brewing in her heart was unbearable, and  she let her base, primal instincts overtake her to the point that she felt more like a maddened beast than a person, and she preferred it that way.</p>
<p>What followed was a whirlwind of shuddering emotion, of pounding feet and blinding lights, of shrieking people and honking cars. When she came to at last, she found herself lying in the front yard of her pack’s home, huffing and puffing and with her heart pounding madly and her legs tired and aching. She felt as though she’d lost consciousness in between leaving the hospital and arriving home, with only vague memories of roaring and screaming and tearing through the busy streets. Now, she laid her head down in the frosty grass and caught her breath as she regained control after her crazed shift.</p>
<p>The child was Dia’s. That thought alone was enough to keep a furious flame burning even in her now-exhausted body. The little cub she’d wished and hoped and prayed for, that she’d spoken and sung to while she was still in Mari’s belly, and for whom she’d made extensive preparations and dreamt about for months… She was unmistakably Dia’s, with that familiar black-brown fur and those gorgeous blue-green eyes.</p>
<p>Of course, nothing about the baby was gorgeous to Kanan; had she been a baser type of alpha, she might have killed the cub on the spot. But Kanan wasn’t a savage or an animal, and sooner or later she’d have to accept the reality of the situation. Perhaps even worse than that, she’d have to accept living life without her long and dearly beloved Mari.</p>
<p>Before she got too far ahead of herself, though, and her eyes froze shut with tears on this December night, there was one last important matter to take care of. She pulled herself to her feet, wiped her eyes and her nose, and marched herself across the yard to the front porch. Kanan had yet to decide whether or not she wanted to stay with the Aqours pack now, but she sure as hell wasn’t going to let Dia stay and claim Mari for herself.</p>
<p>When Kanan entered the house, she spotted Dia right away, as she was cuddled on the couch with Ai and Ruby, wrapped snug and warm in a plush blanket. Setsuna was nearby, too, with her parents and her sister, but Kanan paid them no mind. Her focus was entirely on Dia – dirty, cheating, mate-stealing Dia – and she’d never been happier to see the repulsive scarring on the other alpha’s face.</p>
<p>Ai popped out of the blanket when she saw her father, her face all lit up with excitement. “Papa!” she cried, plainly oblivious to Kanan’s cold expression. “Where’s Mama? Is the baby here?!”</p>
<p>The little one’s questions went unheard and unanswered. Kanan launched herself at her target with a vicious snarl and slung her across the living room like an oversized doll. Dia crashed headlong into the bookshelf, shattering Mari’s expensive knickknacks and bringing heavy books thudding down upon her head.</p>
<p>“<em>GET OUT!</em>”</p>
<p>“What- Kanan?!” Dia rose up, shifted now in fear and pain. She glanced at her packmates, who stared with eyes huge and mouths hanging, seemingly unable to speak or act.</p>
<p>Kanan strode towards her again, this time with a restrained rather than explosive fury, and she cut a savage figure with her fangs on full display and her fur fanned till she looked bigger than any alpha Dia had ever seen. She gripped Dia by the front of her shirt, and the pair locked eyes. In that moment, staring into Kanan’s cruel visage, Dia <em>knew</em>. The cub was hers.</p>
<p>Kanan leaned in close and snarled hot into Dia’s face. “If I <em>ever</em> see your ugly fucking face here again, I’ll make you wish you’d <em>never</em> been born.”</p>
<p>Dia’s blood was as ice. She couldn’t speak. She licked her lips and swallowed hard, yet all her words caught in her throat.</p>
<p>Finally, Riko sprang up, bristling. “What on <em>earth</em> are you doing? Kanan, drop her! Let Dia go!”</p>
<p>Ignoring her packmate’s demands, snarling Kanan slung Dia again, this time towards the door, careless of how she bumped her head or clacked her jaw against the floor. “Get out! I said get <em>out!</em>”</p>
<p>Dia spared her pack one last, pleading look, especially little Ai, who was crying and trembling against Ruby’s side. Poor, sweet cub. Dia had ruined her life.</p>
<p>Kanan gave a terrible roar and leapt for Dia. Without her coat or even her shoes, Dia scrambled away from the great alpha’s claws and into the freezing winter night. Kanan gave chase with a thunderous bellow, and blood rushed in Dia's ears as true fear took hold of her. The tender pads of her feet stung with damp and frost, and her lungs burned with every breath, but still Dia ran. Kanan was only two strong leaps away, heaving and snarling like some hellish beast, and Dia knew that Kanan would kill her the instant she stopped. So she ran.</p>
<p>The Muse pack’s home wasn’t far away, and Dia knew that was where she had to go. She pressed onward, panting and puffing and desperate to escape her once-best friend’s wrath. Once Dia passed the intersection of the two packs’ streets, she heard the furious footsteps behind her slow and stop, much to her relief. The anguished howling that followed shattered Dia’s heart, but she didn’t stop running. She didn’t dare.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Eli paced the length of the living room, back, forth, and back again, rubbing her chin and swishing her tail with nervous energy. Dia sat hunched on Muse’s sofa with a blanket about her shoulders and her freezing feet warming in Nico’s bubbly foot spa. Her tail thumped against the cushions as she recounted the story to her friends.</p>
<p>“I know Kanan will never let me back,” she was saying. “But I won’t just abandon the cub. I want her to know me. But… I just don’t know what to do…”</p>
<p>The hugely pregnant Nozomi laid a comforting hand on Dia’s back. “The cub deserves to know her father,” she said. “Kanan has to recognize that. Elicchi, why don’t we take Dia to get her things and then take her on to the hospital? She needs to see the cub.”</p>
<p>Eli continued to pace. “We should,” she said. “I’m just worried about running into Kanan. I mean, what do you even say…”</p>
<p>“I’m so sorry,” Dia said. “I don’t mean to put you two in this position. This is my problem, and I won’t be offended if you need to stay out of it. I know you’re friends with her, too.”</p>
<p>Eli stopped. “No,” she said, resolute. “We won’t just leave you hanging like this. If worst comes to worst, just let me do the talking. She might listen to me.”</p>
<p>There came a scurrying of cub feet from the stairs, and Karin and Kasumi appeared, their little tails swishing with delight at the sight of Dia. They climbed onto the couch and snuggled into her, oblivious to the dejected alpha’s plight and eager for news of the baby.</p>
<p>“Is the cub here?” Karin asked. “Was it an alpha like we thought? Are we going to the ceremony?”</p>
<p>Kasumi glanced down at the bubbling foot bath. “And why are you using Nico’s foot thing?” she asked. “She’s gonna be mad!”</p>
<p>Dia seemed at a loss of what to say, but Nozomi thankfully stepped in for her. “Girls, give Dia-san some space, please,” she said, and saw to it that the cubs sat back. “Mari is still at the hospital, so the ceremony won’t be tonight. And since it won’t be tonight… don’t you think it’s time for you cubs to start getting ready for bed?”</p>
<p>Neither Karin nor Kasumi thought it should be bedtime, but they understood the command in Nozomi’s suggestion, and they reluctantly took themselves back upstairs to brush teeth and change into sleepclothes.</p>
<p>“Mama,” Karin called from the top step. “Do you <em>promise</em> to wake us up if the baby comes?”</p>
<p>“I promise, little cub,” Nozomi said. “Go on and get in bed now.”</p>
<p>They outfitted Dia with a pair of Eli’s boots and an old coat from the closet. They weren’t quite as comfortable or well-fitting as her own clothes, but they took the edge off the cold well enough, and Dia was thankful for that.</p>
<p>“I think we should probably head to the hospital first,” Dia said from her place in the backseat. “The later we get home, the less likely we are to run into Kanan. We’ve both always been quite early to bed, unlike Mari… Besides, I’m sure visiting hours are ending soon.”</p>
<p>“You should still be able to enter as the father,” Eli replied. “Still, why don’t you try calling Mari? Just so she can work it out with the staff before we get there.”</p>
<p>Dia felt a clutch of dread at the thought of calling. She’d been hoping to speak to Mari in person first, as these sorts of difficult conversations were best had face-to-face, but there was no way around it. She dialed, heart thumping as it rang.</p>
<p>“…Hey, Dia.” Mari’s voice was light and hoarse. “I’m guessing you got the news, then?”</p>
<p>“I did,” Dia said. “I’m with Eli and Nozomi. They’re bringing me to see you right now. Are you okay?”</p>
<p>“Well, hardly,” Mari replied with a humorless chuckle. “But we’ll talk about that when you get here. For now, though, are you going to… Well, will you sign for her? As her father?”</p>
<p>“I will,” Dia said. “Just let the staff know that I’m coming. See you shortly.”</p>
<p>“See you.”</p>
<p>Dia turned her gaze to the window then. The silence was deep as they whisked along the still-bright city streets, and her thoughts drifted naturally to Kanan and the conflict of the day. Never had Dia feared for her life as she had tonight, not even when she’d encountered those two strange, roaming alphas earlier in the year. With the stranger alphas, Dia had been so caught up in the frenzy of combat that she had little time to fear or even think. But tonight, Dia had truly been <em>prey</em> to her longtime friend, the alpha that she loved, and it chilled her.</p>
<p>“Thank you again for doing this,” Dia said as they pulled up to the hospital. “It really does mean a lot to me.”</p>
<p>“Don’t worry about it,” Nozomi said. “The most important thing is that you get to see your cub. The details can be worked out later. Now go on!”</p>
<p>The hospital lobby was quiet, save for the rustle of a waiting father’s magazine and the occasional click of heels against the tile. The receptionist was friendly enough, and Dia had little trouble obtaining a visitor’s wristband and getting the okay to go up to Mari’s room. She found the rest of the building to be pleasantly quiet, as well, likely due to the late hour, and it gave her plenty of peace to rehearse what she wanted to say.</p>
<p>“Mari?”</p>
<p>Rehearsing in her head was much easier than living through the actual situation. Dia stepped precariously into the dimly-lit hospital room, and immediately she caught scent of Mari’s sweet maternal musk, accompanied by an eerily familiar cub scent. Her heart pounded, and she found her tongue dry.</p>
<p>“Hey, Dia.” There was little joy in Mari’s smile, Dia noted, and her eyes were damp and red-rimmed. She bounced the rumbling cub gently in her arms as she spoke. “I’m glad you came. Really glad.”</p>
<p>Dia stepped closer, still tongue-tied. She stared at the precious new bundle, mesmerized by the dark fur she and the cub shared, and by the scent which was maddeningly familiar, yet new and different to Dia’s nose. It was incredible. She’d made this. </p>
<p>“What’s her name?” she asked at length.</p>
<p>“Sayuri,” Mari said, and offered the child up. “Here, baby, go see your Papa.”</p>
<p>Dia wrinkled her nose at the nickname. “Papa is too… masculine,” she said. “I’ll be Mommy.” She chose not to mention how Papa reminded her also of Kanan.</p>
<p>“Fine, fine!” Mari said. “Mommy it is.” She laid the cub delicately in Dia’s arms, careful to make sure her little head was supported properly. She knew Dia would never purposely mishandle the cub, but still her protective instincts kicked into high gear, and she felt her muscles tense with the anticipation of a spring should anything go wrong.</p>
<p>Baby Sayuri’s drowsy eyes fluttered open as she was transferred from parent to parent. But, like all cubs, she instinctively recognized the scent of her father, finding it similar to her own and therefore safe and familiar, and she rumbled contentedly in Dia’s arms. Dia leaned in close, rubbing her scent all along the baby alpha’s fuzzy cheeks and head.</p>
<p>“I love you,” she murmured into the downy fur without really thinking. “I love you.”</p>
<p>Such a direct declaration was unusual for Dia, and Mari was pleased. The cub would have a good father.</p>
<p>“I wish things could have turned out differently,” Dia said as she seated herself at the end of Mari’s bed. “I really wanted it to work out.”</p>
<p>“You know how Kanan is,” Mari said. “She cares about you, but she’s never seen you like that. To her, you were always competition. Even when we were cubs, you were always ‘the other alpha’ to her.”</p>
<p>“I never wanted to compete,” Dia said. “I loved you both, and I wanted to be with you both, but I was willing to accept you going exclusive with Kanan. It hurt me, but I accepted it. In a way, I almost expected it. But…”</p>
<p>Memories of her desperate sexual encounter with Mari flashed through Dia’s mind. They’d mated many times before, of course, but that was the first time it was just the two of them, one on one, without Kanan. During their more typical triple matings, the territorial Kanan always guarded the precious space between Mari’s legs with a fierce jealousy backed by fiercer fangs. For Dia to finally fill that space for herself, to feel Mari’s incredible warmth squeezing her tight and to smell her heavenly musk… It was divine.</p>
<p>It couldn’t have lasted. Kanan burst in while the aftershocks still rocked through Dia’s body, and the great blue alpha charged with a vengeance. Dia was used to Kanan’s usual dominant posturing, but never, ever had Kanan acted with such violent aggression and raised her claws against Dia as she had that night – and now on this night.</p>
<p>“Well, I just think I should have controlled myself better,” Dia said after a time. “Kanan chased me away tonight, you know. I can’t go back.”</p>
<p>Mari frowned. “It’s not only <em>your</em> fault, Dia,” she said. “Heat or not, we made our choice. Now we have to live with it. You know? But I’ll see to it that you get to raise Sayuri, so don’t worry.”</p>
<p>“Yeah…”</p>
<p>That was far easier said than done. The pair sat in silence for a while, brewing in thoughts of their past relations and of Kanan, and of the little cub now sleeping so soundly in Dia’s tender embrace. Sayuri was the one sweetness in the whole sour situation, and even with the imminent breakup of her cubhood pack looming, Dia found it hard to regret anything. The cub was hers.</p>
<p>“By the way,” Mari said some minutes later, “is that Eli’s coat you’re wearing?”</p>
<p>“Er- Yes.” Dia’s furs prickled out as she remembered Eli and Nozomi waiting outside for her. “I’ve got to go now. I can’t believe I lost track of time! Eli and Nozomi must be anxious to get going.” She laid one last kiss on Sayuri’s fuzzy forehead before placing her gently in the baby bed beside Mari.</p>
<p>“I should be getting discharged in the morning,” Mari said, and thumped her tail against the bed. “I’d drive myself home, but, uh… Well, you know.”</p>
<p>“I’ll come get you,” Dia assured her. “Just call when it’s time.” Then, without real thought, she leaned over the hospital bed, her eyes fluttering shut, her lips seeking Mari’s.</p>
<p>Mari barked a vicious warning. Dia jerked back, her heart racing into action and her furs rippling. Shame burned in her chest and in her cheeks at what she’d done.</p>
<p>“Don’t.” The earlier warmth was gone now from Mari’s eyes, replaced with leering suspicion. She took the now-whimpering Sayuri into her arms again and turned her full attention to soothing her, freeing Dia to leave quietly.</p>
<p>The walk back down to the lobby was excruciating. Dia played the moment over and over again in her head, wondering why, <em>why</em> did she do something so thoughtless and so stupid? She’d let her more emotional side – the side who still loved and longed for Mari and her touch – get the better of her.</p>
<p>Downstairs, the man who earlier had been waiting with his magazine was now gone, replaced by Eli, who was busy scrolling her phone.</p>
<p>“I’m so sorry,” Dia said. “I wasn’t keeping up with the time. I didn’t mean to keep you waiting. Where’s Nozomi?”</p>
<p>Eli smiled and jerked her thumb in the direction of the single toilet. “Pregnancy pee.”</p>
<p>As if on cue, the door swung open, and Nozomi appeared, looking refreshed. “There you are, Dia!” she said with a laugh. “That was a close one. So? How did it go?”</p>
<p>“Well…” Dia knew there was no use in hiding her feelings; the damn-near-psychic Nozomi had a way of seeing straight through people. “The cub is definitely mine, at least. She’s precious. As for Mari, well… We’ll work things out some way.”</p>
<p>That answer was satisfactory for Nozomi. “I’m sure you will,” she said. “Now come on, it’s getting late. We’ll stop by to pick up your things, and then you can stay at our place for the night. Sound good?”</p>
<p>It did sound good. Dia realized then how tired she was, both physically and emotionally, and she stifled a yawn as the three of them climbed back into the car. With the city lights passing her by once again, and with Eli’s light music playing from the radio, she pushed thoughts of Kanan and Mari aside for the moment, and let thoughts of baby Sayuri take their place.</p>
<p>She was father to a little alpha…</p>
<p>Paternity drama aside, the notion of parenthood was still as a dream. In her hands rested the full responsibility for a new and yet unmolded life – it fell to her to teach the cub how to live as a proper alpha, to master her natural strength, and to succeed in their beta-dominated world. At any other time in her life, Dia might have found such an idea frightening or even crushing. Yet, somehow, the memory of the baby’s innocent blue-green eyes – the ones she shared with Dia and which did not flinch or turn away in fear or disgust at her father’s terrible scars – turned the weight of that responsibility to a feather.</p>
<p>Dia was a parent now, and she wouldn’t have it any other way.</p>
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